By Shannon McFarlin WENK/WTPR News Director
Paris, Tenn.–The driver of a tour bus miraculously was unharmed after the bus was hit by a car on Hwy. 79S, causing the bus to careen down into a deep gully on the side of the highway Friday evening.
Don Collins of Shelbyville, Ky., told WENK/WTPR at the scene that he and three other tour buses were en route to Fort Campbell to pick up soldiers to transport them to Fort Polk when the accident happened. The caravan was traveling northbound and happened near the J.R. Hayes Construction Co.
The southbound car “hit me so hard I can’t believe I’m o.k.,” he said. Collins said he was alone on the bus. No immediate word on the condition of the other driver was available.
The tour buses are owned by Shockey Tours of Louisville and the other three buses pulled off on the side of the road after the accident.
Multiple agencies responded to the accident, including the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Henry Co. Sheriff’s Office, Paris Fire Department, and Henry County EMS.
Trooper Jeremy Byars was investigating the accident and details will be released as they are available.
Photo: Bus driver Don Collins looks down into the gully at the wreckage of the tour bus he was driving. (Shannon McFarlin photo).
